Wrapped in Green
by shannonthropp
Summary: When Galinda Upland enrolls at Shiz University, she is unfortunately paired up with a stubborn, green-skinned girl whom she has nothing in common with. But when an unlikely friendship sparks between the two of them, Galinda finds herself thrown into a world of emerald skin, making her question everything she once thought she was.
1. Living in Resentment

_Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, I am just borrowing them to make my life better. The story I'm about to write does not relate in any way to the writings by Gregory Maguire, Stephen Schwartz or L. Frank Baum. It does not carry on from any events that happened in the books, I am simply using the characters to build up my own events. I may add one or two new characters in along the way so if you don't recognise them from the original novels, worry not! And enjoy. Or try to, at least. This is my first time posting online. Ever. I'm sorry the chapter is short, but since it's my first time, I thought I'd keep it short and sweet just in case I bore you._

 **LIVING IN RESENTMENT**

Galinda Upland sat upright on a bench in the grounds of Shiz University. It was a balmy, early October evening and her first week at Shiz had not improved liked she had hoped it would. Sure, she had made two good friends who were fun to talk to over lunch, but Pfannee and Shenshen weren't exactly being supportive of her awful situation. The jokes had been fun at first. The fact that she had rose above Madame Morrible's terrible confusion and been held in high admiration by her fellow classmates had been even better. But all of that was getting old now, for who was there to make jokes with her when the sun went down? Who was there to admire her courage at 2am when she was sleeping opposite the monster? While Pfannee and Shenshen were rooming together down the hall, Galinda was stuck with a roommate who was a shade of... well, a shade of _off_. Galinda's roommate was _green_. She, Galinda Arduenna Upland, was rooming with a _frog_. With a _lettuce_. And Elphaba was just as damp as a limp lettuce, too.

Galinda leant forward and cupped her chin in her palms. Shiz was supposed to be fun. She was supposed to be kissing boys and painting her friend's nails and eating ice cream, wasn't she? Isn't that what happened on TV? Elphaba didn't do any of that stuff - she ate apples and read books and studied. Galinda wasn't even sure that Elphaba had ever _been_ with a boy. Well of course, because what boy would want to be with something that looked persistently seasick? She tossed back her blonde hair and groaned. The sun was setting and that meant she and all of the other students in the grounds had to go back indoors to their rooms; which was fine for all of those who had _normal_ roommates. But Galinda wasn't one of those students. She stood up, stretched her legs and waited for the last person in the grounds to go indoors before she followed in quiet annoyance. This wasn't fair! Why was _she_ the one being made to feel uncomfortable and threatened? Why couldn't Pfannee be the unfortunate soul to have been chosen to live with Elphaba? Or Shenshen? Word had gotten around that Shenshen had a younger brother with a disability back home, so surely _she_ would cope better with the diseased green girl?

The hallways were still and almost tranquil when Galinda entered the building. There were distant footsteps running down another corridor and the sound of two girl's laughing from behind one of the closed doors to her right.

She turned her head towards the door and muttered, "I am almost green with envy," before realising what she had said and putting her hands over her mouth.

Decorating every corner of the halls were a pair of loudspeakers donned in brown leather and tarnished wood and through each speaker, a compilation of lulling hymns would play all day until 10pm. Presently, Galinda thought she recognised the tune coming through the speakers, although she wasn't sure why.

 _Endearment darling for me, you see_

 _Whether differentiate or dissimilar to me_

 _There will come a morn, one day, you see_

 _The eye will become indistinguishable to thee_.

Galinda frowned. The words were not familiar to her ears, only the tune. Still, as she took a flight of stairs and the corridor to her room, she couldn't place where she'd heard such music before. She stood outside of her door for a moment, sure that she could hear murmuring coming from inside. As Galinda stuck her ear against the wood, she found that she had not been mistaken. The voice of Elphaba, her green-skinned roommate, sounded clearly through the doors.

"I told you, for the seventeenth time, I will not be responsible for what happens if I am made to stay here," the girl was saying, "You cannot expect me to —"

Here she was cut off. Galinda pressed her ear closer to the door.

"Wait a minute," Elphaba's voice was saying.

And then the door opened. Galinda fell clumsily onto her roommate who at first cupped her arms around the blonde before letting her fall to the floor.

"What are you doing?" Elphaba hissed, cutting off whoever was on the other end of the telephone by punching a large, red button, "Are you spying on me?"

" _Excuse_ me?" Galinda was mortified. She pulled down her yellow skirt to cover her legs and brushed her fingers through her hair before looking up at her roommate. "I live here, too!"

"You do? I would never have known, since you're never here."

"Oh, I—" Galinda huffed, "I have nothing to say to you."

She stood up and tossed her curls behind her shoulder, standing with her head held high so she was almost looking Elphaba in the eyes. This mutant would not make a fool of her.

Elphaba raised an eyebrow and folded her arms, a grin painted on her lips.

"What are you smirking at?"

"Nothing."

"I should hope not!" Galinda scowled and walked over to her side of the room. She sat down on the edge of her bed and looked at the strange, green girl stood in the centre of the room. Elphaba was tall - taller than most, actually. She was a beanpole. A _greenbeanpole_. Galinda had to stop herself from laughing out loud at her own joke. There had been a crowd of rumours behind Elphaba's background, of course. On the third day of the first week, one of the girls, whom Galinda was almost certain could be placed as Pfannee, had sent out the tittle-tattle tale that Elphaba had been the spawn inbred by two munchkins in a town West of Central Oz made only for munchkin fellows who couldn't find anybody to mate with and so mated with their family members.

Somebody had suggested that she had quite obviously been brought up on a boat and was suffering from a long-term, internal seasickness, explaining her green skin.

And in one of the stalls in the public bathrooms, somebody had declared on the wall that Elphaba Thropp was _the Devil of Oz_.

Looking up at her roommate, Galinda knew then that Elphaba was neither of those things. She was simply an irritating specimen whom had been put in her path to try and throw her off course. And she would rise above it, just like she had been taught.

"You will not drag me down, Elphaba Thropp."

Elphaba lay down on her own bed and picked up the open book which lay rested on the cabinet beside her bed. "I don't intend to, Ms. Upland."

"To you, it's Ms. _Arduenna_ Upland."

"I apologise, Ms. Glinda _Arduenna_ Upland."

Galinda stared open-mouthed at her roommate. Did the girl have a speech impediment or was she simply getting her joys out of frustrating her?

"It is _GA_ linda."

Elphaba turned her back towards Galinda.

"Quit ignoring me!"

"Would you stop it?" Elphaba flipped back around and snapped her book shut, "All you ever do is complain when I talk to you, avoid me in the corridors and leave this room first thing in the morning and come back last thing at night. Do not now start to complain that _I_ am ignoring _you_."

"You, you are —" Galinda narrowed her eyes, "You are _insolent_."

"Well," Elphaba said, "It beats being inbred munchkin spawn."

Galinda crossed her legs and watched Elphaba turn back to face the wall. She picked up her book and began to read again, almost instantly forgetting their confrontation. Galinda rolled her eyes and made her way to the bathroom to shower and change into her nightgown. The room was of ample size but the shower temperature varied only between being burnt or being frozen.

Sharing a bathroom, to Galinda, was torture. Sharing a bathroom with a green girl who was apt to bring her down? Well that was _even worse_. She shut the door and sifted through the face creams and makeup in the cabinet, all of which were hers. She wondered what Elphaba used to primp herself in the morning and immediately sniggered. Elphaba did nothing to primp herself, of course. The only thing of hers in the bathroom was a toothbrush which she kept, oddly, bathing downwards in a glass of milk. Galinda didn't comment on this, it was the only thing in the bathroom to claim Elphaba's living there. Of course, she would laugh about it over lunch with Pfannee and Shenshen tomorrow.

Elphaba's wardrobe was very similar to her bathroom belongings. Weird and not much of it. She always had her black hair tied to the side in a single, long braid which matched the black gown and blazer she wore every day. Sometimes, she would wear a flat-cap on the top of her head but that was about as exciting as Elphaba's outfits got.

Galinda undressed, tied back her own hair and donned the frilled shower-cap hanging from the side of the bathroom rail. There was a soft snoring coming from the main bedroom. She wrapped a towel around her body and opened the door to the bedroom to peak in on Elphaba who was curled up, knees tucked beneath her chin, snoring gently. Her thumb was in-between the pages of the book she had just been reading and every time a puff of air left her mouth, the tops of the pages would flutter. Galinda looked at her sleeping roommate for a moment before shutting the door and getting into the shower.


	2. Shades of Vermilion

_A/N: Here doth lie another quite short chapter. Nevertheless I had so much fun writing it! I just love getting lost in Elphie's world._

 **SHADES OF VERMILION**

Elphaba Thropp woke up lying on top of her plain bed sheets beneath a snarl of black hair. The book she had been reading the previous night had folded beneath her palm, equalling her loss of page and the rip of three consecutive pages. She sighed, pushed the book away from her and sat up, noticing that she'd fallen asleep in her day clothes. Her skirt had become tangled above her knees and she quickly pulled it back down to her ankles, making sure to cover the emerald shade of her skin. Looking over at her roommate, Elphaba saw that Glinda was still sound asleep, her blonde hair tied up in a neat knot and a personalised pink sleeping mask with _GALINDA UPLAND_ stitched into the fabric covering her eyes. _GA_ linda - Elphaba noted. She always mispronounced the name. Not that she cared.

The sun was already bright outside, the orange shades casting amber shadows against the dorm room walls. Elphaba looked around at the four walls. Galinda's were covered with various framed posters of ball gowns, shoes and a number of famous Ozmopolitan designer's autographs. Her own section was plain, a stack of books wobbling on the side of her desk. She had been living there for just over a week and hadn't thought to bring anything to decorate her room with. It hadn't been a necessity and Elphaba hadn't know that she would be rooming with _Galinda Arduenna Upland_. The sudden change in circumstances had been most unfortunate for the both of them. Elphaba scowled and mooched into the bathroom. It smelt like bath salts and what Elphaba imagined the colour pink to smell like. It smelt like Galinda. She slammed the door loud enough to wake her sleeping roommate.

Not long later, Elphaba left the bathroom. It hadn't taken her long to re-braid her hair and brush her teeth. Trying to avoid the full-length mirror had been a struggle but she had managed to focus her eyes on her black hair rather than her green skin. She hated that Galinda had propped up two more mirrors around the room - one opposite the small window and the other at a right angle in the corner. It made it harder to avoid her reflection. And how many mirrors did the girl need?

When Elphaba opened the door to the bedroom, Galinda was sat on the edge of her bed and had changed into a pale blue dress that cut just above her knee.

"Not showering today?" Elphaba asked, watching the floor move under her feet as she crossed to her side of the room.

"Oh, Elphaba, you must know by now that I'm a night-time shower- _er_. Do you not?"

"I wasn't sure I should be paying that much attention."

Galinda frowned, a small v shaping between her knitted eyes. She stood up and walked to the bathroom, turning to Elphaba before she shut the door. "I'm going to brush my teeth and apply my makeup, now, Elphaba. Please take note." She shut the door before Elphaba rolled her eyes and threw herself back down on the bed. She couldn't win with her - either she paid too much attention or too little and it infuriated Elphaba more than it should. Without another thought on the matter, she left the room and headed to her one-on-one sorcery class.

* * *

"I want you to invite your roommate to join in with these classes, Ms. Thropp."

"You _what_?" Elphaba's jaw did a cliché drop as she stared at the gray-haired tutor sat opposite her, "That really won't be possible, Madame."

"And why not?"

"Because. My roommate, she's - well - she's, you know."

"I'm afraid I don't, Ms. Thropp," Madame Morrible leant forward, her elbows resting on the vintage desk beneath her, "You'll have to explain further. What exactly _is_ your roommate?"

"Well, she's nothing, not really. It's just, we spend so much time together already I was rather hoping these classes could just stay between the two of us."

"That is the thing, Elphaba, you two do not spend enough time together. In fact, I've heard that Ms. Upland spends more time in the grounds than in her room."

"That isn't my problem!" Elphaba stood up and pushed her chair from beneath her, marching to the end of the room and back again.

"Elphaba, would you please seat yourself?"

"I shan't! You told me these classes were private!"

"Sometimes one must go back on one's words, Ms. Thropp."

Elphaba glared at her tutor. How was she supposed to trust people when people acted in such dishonest manners? She should have known the classes were too good to be true. After nine days of one-to-one sessions, Elphaba had finally felt like she was capable of something. She had finally found a purpose. If Galinda began participating in the classes, all of that would fizzle out. Galinda brought out the worst in her. Galinda made Elphaba turn shades of vermilion, and Elphaba was _green_ , for crying out loud.

"Okay, fine," Elphaba slammed her palms down on the desk and met Madame Morrible's eyes with her own, "I quit."

"Don't be ridiculous, Elphaba."

"I'm not being ridiculous, I'm being candid."

"Oh, Miss. Elphaba."

"Stop saying my name! It really isn't that interesting a name. You just don't need to say it out loud as much as you do."

"Elphaba -"

Elphaba groaned loudly and clumped across the room again, her heavy black boots hitting the floor.

"Please just think about it, you two could really be quite something together."

"And you don't think I could be quite something on my _own_?" Elphaba genuinely asked, "Madame, I disagree! I apologise, however I think I was making progress quite well on my own."

"Try it, please. One session together tomorrow. Your talent is most resplendent and I can only think that together, yours and Ms. Upland's could be quite... _lavish_. I would also like to add that this would be most beneficial to your social skills, or lack thereof."

Elphaba sighed and shrugged her shoulders. There was really no getting out of this one.

"Okay."

"Okay?"

"I won't repeat myself."

Madame Morrible threw back her head and let out a squawk of high-pitched laughter.

"You really are something, Miss. Elphaba. Now, shoo. Don't forget to remind Galinda that I expect you both in here tomorrow at nine sharpish."

" _I_ have to tell her? Oh, you have got to be kidding me!"

"I don't kid. Now get out of here! I'll see you both tomorrow."

Elphaba left the room feeling defeated. She hunched her shoulders and walked through the corridors with her head down, focusing on the tiles beneath her rather than the comments coming from the other students. Once she reached her room, she threw the door open with exaggerated ferocity to see Galinda sat on the floor, her head bent forward and a tumble of blonde, gentle curls falling across her face. Elphaba acknowledged her roommate warily. It was much too quiet. She walked over to her bed and grabbed the two books for the next class from her desk. Galinda hadn't moved or taken notice of Elphaba since she'd stormed through the door. It was when Elphaba looked slightly closer that she noticed a puddle of tears beneath the blonde's eyelashes. She looked around the room awkwardly. Had she to say something? Had she to say nothing? She clutched her books to her chest.

"You know, the floor really isn't that interesting."

Galinda sniffed, disregarding Elphaba's comment by turning her head the opposite way. Elphaba stood stiffly for a moment, only her eyes darting from side to side. She sighed silently, dropped her books onto her bed and walked back out of the room.

" _AH! Oh, sweet Oz, my eyes!"_

" _The devil! The devil is here!_ "

" _Inbred munchkin spawn returns!_ "

Elphaba grimaced, picking up her pace and treading louder to quieten the remarks made by the three cackling girls stood in the corridor. She made her way to the cafeteria, picked up a bottle of water and walked speedily back to her room. Galinda hadn't moved.

Elphaba walked over to her blonde roommate and handed her the bottle of water. Galinda's head moved a fraction and she hesitated before taking the water from her, but she took it with a meek thanks.

"Madame Morrible asked me to invite, or rather, she told me to tell you to be at her sorcery class tomorrow at nine," Elphaba said.

"What?" Galinda wiped her eyes and looked up, "I thought those sessions were private?"

"So did I, actually," Elphaba shrugged, "Feel better."

She picked up her books and made her way back to the class she had supposed to be at ten minutes ago. She hadn't known why Galinda was crying and had felt it too prying to ask, but having her roommate silent was _different_. Elphaba thought she preferred it when Galinda was being, well, _Galinda_.


	3. Quarrels and Squabbles and Disputes

_A/N: Thank you so so much for all of the reviews so far! I love receiving any comments about my writing whether they be positive or negative, I take all of them on board. They all mean a lot to me, especially since this is the first time posting my writing online and I was very self-conscious about it. I love getting lost in Elphie's head, it gives me a chance to escape my own for a while! My head is sometimes a pretty brutal place to be, haha. But in good news (actually, absolutely FANTASTICAL news, as Glinda might put it), I officially have booked SECOND ROW TICKETS to see Wicked at the London Victoria Apollo theatre on August 22nd at 2:30pm. 22 days and counting! This may be the death of me, haha. I don't know how much more excitement I can put up with. Anyway, I'll stop babbling on and leave you to read Chapter 3: Quarrels and Squabbles and Disputes (oh my)._

 **QUARRELS AND SQUABBLES AND DISPUTES**

Galinda watched Elphaba leave the room suspiciously. Why had the girl brought her water? Had she spat in it? She opened the clasp on the bottle and it snapped, signalling its first opening. _Weird_. Nevertheless, she replaced the lid and left the water untouched on her nightstand.

The thing about the sorcery classes had almost taken Galinda's mind off what had happened to her cousin Aimee. _Almost_. She wiped her eyes and pulled the recent letter out from her dress pocket, leaning back on the bed to reread it for the fifth time that morning. Immediately, the sorcery classes took a darker seat in the back of her mind whilst the worry she had felt before returned.

 _Dear Ms. Arduenna Upland,_

 _Your father not long ago informed me of your close association with his niece and your second cousin Ms. Aimee Doe Mehmet. It is with my deepest regrets and sincerest sympathies that I hereby am obligated to inform you of her disappearance. Ms. Doe Mehmet was last seen leaving the Ozdust Ballroom on the evening of September 28th and her absence has been cultivated since. The parents of Ms. Doe Mehmet have publicised the distressing news to further broadcast any hopes of finding their daughter._

 _Your father has apprised me to notify you of any changed information which may occur. I deem you not worry._

 _I hope you are well._

 _Best wishes,_

 _D. L. Rocket_

She dropped the letter from her father's publicist to the floor and stood up.

"You _deem I not worry_?" she said out loud, "Oh, well if you _deem_."

The door flung open and Galinda screeched in surprise to see Elphaba rushing towards her bed, cradling an armful of books. She dropped them to the floor with a bang that made Galinda flinch.

"What in the name of Oz are you doing?"

"Class was cancelled," Elphaba murmured, "Actually, the rest of today's classes have been cancelled. Something about there needing to be more Animal training."

"And that is a bad thing?"

"Yes. It means I have to spend more time in here with you."

"Oh, well I _do_ apologise."

"Your sarcasm is wry and uncharacteristic," Elphaba snarled.

Galinda's breathing heightened. She ran her fingers through a small knot in the ends of her hair. "There is nothing stopping you from going outside, Elphaba."

"I ran into Madame Morrible on the way over."

"So?" Galinda raised her eyebrow at the change of topic.

"So she wants to see you."

"Why would Morrible want to see _me_?"

"It probably has something to do with the sorcery classes I mentioned earlier. If you took a second to wrack your memory and stop crying over some boy for a moment, you just might remember that."

Galinda narrowed her gaze and walked over to where Elphaba stood. She glared into the pair of deep brown eyes opposite her before striding out of the room furiously.

* * *

It had been over three hours and Galinda still hadn't returned. Elphaba stood up, walked over to the window and looked outside at the various groups of students dotted around the grounds but she couldn't see her roommate anywhere. She paced the room four times before skidding on a piece of stray paper on the floor. Elphaba was about to kick the paper out of her way when a draft of wind flipped it over, revealing a dark scrawl of black inked writing. Frowning, she bent down and picked up the script. It didn't take her long to read the short letter about Galinda's missing second cousin, Aimee.

"Oh, no."

Elphaba pocketed the letter, grabbed her black coat and stalked out of the door, down the hallway and towards the cafeteria, all the while thinking of how she had blamed Galinda's tears on a boy. Well, in her own defense, _how was she to know_? She knew two things about her blonde roommate, one being that the girl was positively arrogant and the other being that she was seeing a fellow called Fiyero.

The cafeteria was busy and as soon as Elphaba walked through the doors, the grim remarks started.

"What is _that_ thing doing in here? Doesn't it know it will put us off our lunches?" a girl with sky blue hair said loud enough for Elphaba to hear, "Somebody take it away!"

"I didn't order lettuce with my lunch today," another snorted.

" _Ah_!" a plump girl simply squealed, covering her eyes with both palms.

Peals of laughter followed the remarks, echoing around the dining room and reverberating from the yellow walls so that Elphaba found it hard to concentrate. She closed her eyes to summon all of her strength and opened them with such force, making several empty chairs transport into the centre of the room and fall to the floor with a loud clatter. The cafeteria silenced and the swarm of girls looked at Elphaba with terrified eyes.

"Where is Galinda? Have any of you seen Galinda Upland?" she yelled.

Nobody answered. Elphaba scanned the cafeteria and saw two familiar faces in the far left corner. She thought their names were Pfannee and Shenshen and only knew this because they were two of Galinda's devoted followers.

"You, and you!" Elphaba said, walking towards the two girls who regarded her with looks of revolt, "Where is Galinda?"

The shortest girl straightened her back and looked up at Elphaba. She pouted and turned her head to the side.

"Well? What about you?" Elphaba looked towards the taller girl and raised an eyebrow. "Where is Galinda?"

"We have no idea what you are talking about, do we, Pfannee?"

"We certainly do not!"

"Oh, drop the act and tell me where she is!" Elphaba yelled, "I can move occupied seats, too!"

"She's in the public bathroom!" Shenshen squeaked, "In C Block!"

Elphaba glared at them both. She turned around with a swift flare of her black coat and marched from the cafeteria towards the C Block public bathroom. The stalls appeared to be empty when she got there and Elphaba was about to go and give Pfannee and Shenshen what for when she heard a quiet snivelling coming from the end stall.

"Gli- _Ga_ linda? Are you in here?" she called, making her way over to the source of the hushed wailing. "Hello?"

Elphaba tentatively knocked on the end door. It opened almost immediately and she was left looking at a very uncharacteristically curled up Galinda. The blonde was sat on top of the closed toilet lid, her legs tucked beneath her chin and her arms encasing her knees. Elphaba watched Galinda for a moment before locking the stall door and sitting down on the bathroom floor opposite her roommate.

"Elphaba, please stand up. You are going to filth yourself sat on this germicidal floor," Galinda frowned, "Honestly, it is making me anxious."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't apologise, just stand up!"

" _Not_ for sitting on the floor," Elphaba said.

"Oh... well then what for?"

"For automatically and quite bluntly assuming that the reason for your tears somehow related to a boy," Elphaba admitted, "I was wrong to think that."

"Oh, well, that _was_ quite rude of you," Galinda huffed, "You were right to assume that an apology was hereby needed. How did you find me?"

"I threatened Pfannee and Shenshen."

"You did _what_?!" Galinda screeched, rubbing her eyes and searching Elphaba's face, "I don't understand! How?"

Elphaba rolled her eyes and uncrossed her legs. The tiles really were very uncomfortable and she hadn't planned on having such a long discussion with Galinda. She had wanted to apologise and leave. As it stood, it turned out Galinda was good at dragging out situations for longer than anticipated.

"There really is no need to go into detail," Elphaba said, "I just-"

"Wait a moment," Galinda interrupted, putting a finger to Elphaba's lips and holding it there.

Elphaba opened her mouth to speak, but was immediately hushed again.

"I said wait!" Galinda hissed, "How did you know that my tears were not in regard to a boy?"

"Because I -" Elphaba muffled, removing Galinda's finger from her lips, "I read the letter you left on the floor."

"You read my _mail_?!"

"You left it on the floor!"

"You read my _mail_?!" Galinda repeated an octave higher, if that was possible.

Elphaba stood up quickly, "Here's a tip, Glin- _GAlinda_ , if you don't want people to read your mail, _don't_ leave it on the floor."

They were both silenced immediately when two recognized voices sounded through the door. Elphaba opened her mouth to speak again but Galinda shook her head viciously in caution.

"We ought to warn her, Shenshen," the first voice said.

"Pfannee, the girl can look after herself! I don't want to be sought out and spat on by that foul green _toad_. Did you see what she did to those chairs? Those chairs could have been _us_!" the second tweeted.

Elphaba's nostrils flared in vexation at the brainless name-calling. Galinda, seeing this small movement, grabbed her roommate's hand and squeezed it as hard as she could, warning her against speaking. She stood up delicately to come as close as she could to Elphaba's height.

"They can't know you're in here with me," Galinda whispered, "They just can't."

Elphaba scowled, "Why not?"

"Because I have a reputation to uphold."

"Oh _please_."

"Galinda, Miss. Galinda are you in here?" Pfannee shrieked, pushing open the empty stall doors one by one.

"Just trust me," Galinda whispered, "Please, Elphie."

" _Elphie_?" Elphaba hissed, "Who in the name of Oz is _Elphie_?"

"Now is not the time," Galinda said, dropping Elphaba's hand, "Stay here, I'll get rid of them."

Galinda left the stall and shut the door after her. She rushed over to Pfannee and Shenshen, her hand pressed against the left of her chest in mock horror.

"Oh, Miss. Galinda!" Pfannee cried out, trotting over to her friend, "We were so worried about you! That, _that green cretin_ just intimidated us into telling her where you were!"

"Yes!" Shenshen piped up, "And although we didn't _want_ to tell her of your whereabouts, we were just so _afraid_."

Behind the end stall, Elphaba rolled her eyes.

"Oh, you two are such good friends!" Galinda cooed, "Let's head back to the cafeteria quickly before Elphaba finds us here."

The voices grew quieter as they exited the bathroom. Elphaba waited a few minutes before leaving the stall and walking over to one of the sinks. She pressed her hands against the white cast-iron and looked directly into the mirror above the basin, meeting her own eyes. She grimaced and left.


	4. Common Ground

**COMMON GROUND**

With classes being cancelled, the rest of the day passed excruciatingly slowly. Elphaba watched the sun set outside of her window just as Galinda walked into the room and addressed her forcefully.

"Elphaba, I think we need to talk."

"Really?" Elphaba groaned.

"Yes, really. I think it is time we set some boundaries," Galinda coughed, "Like, for example, I don't want you reading my mail. Speaking of which, where _is_ my letter?"

"I put it back in your drawer."

"Oh, okay, that's fine."

"Glinda, I-"

" _GA_ linda, Elphaba, it's _GAAAAA_ -linda."

"A few hours ago you were addressing me as _Elphie_. I will call you _Glindy_ , if I want to."

Galinda screwed up her face and threw herself on top of her bed. She closed her eyes and remained silent.

"Galinda, listen," Elphaba walked over to the blonde and sat on the edge of her bed delicately. She waited for her roommate to open her eyes before she resumed speaking. "I didn't mean to pry. I truly only read your letter by a twist of fate, that being I almost broke my neck on it. I did not intentionally delve into your private affairs."

"You could've just placed it back on the floor without reading it, couldn't you?"

"I guess..."

"Well then!"

"What are you going to do about Aimee?"

Galinda sat up almost instantly and narrowed her eyes. She watched Elphaba closely. "What do you mean?"

"You're going to do something, aren't you?"

"Like what, exactly? It isn't like I can go out there searching for her!"

"You could."

"Don't be so foolish," Galinda scorned, "Honestly, Elphaba."

"It was just a suggestion."

"Oh, okay, and how do you _suggest_ I get out of here to look for her? Don't you think my father would have something to say if Shiz contacted him to tell him of my disappearance so promptly after Aimee's?" Galinda said, "You must remember that I am Galinda Arduenna Upland of the -"

" _Of the Upper Uplands_ , yes I know," Elphaba interrupted mockingly, receiving a glower from Galinda in return, "But I really think you could help."

"Yes, well, you are wrong and I disagree."

"Okay. Did you speak to Madame Morrible today?"

"I may have done."

"Did she tell you about the class tomorrow?"

"She may have done."

Elphaba rolled her eyes in frustration and let out an audible groan. "Make sure you turn up to the class tomorrow, there's something I want to try."

"Elphaba Thropp, what are you planning?"

"I'm not sure yet, but it will fall into place by tomorrow, I hope."

"You make me nervous," Galinda said.

"You make me sour."

"Oh, Elphaba, you are _always_ sour. As sour as a green, _green_ apple."

"That was a low blow, Glindy."

* * *

"AH! And what have we here? Something I never thought my own two eyes would behold. A Ms. Thropp and a Ms. Upland. _Together_. Within close proximity of the other." Madame Morrible clasped her hands together. She stood in front of Elphaba and Galinda, viewing them with amusement and circling the two girls a number of times before excusing herself to go to the bathroom. "You must understand, when you get to my age, things do not work quite as they used to."

Elphaba grimaced.

"Oh, Madame, wait, I must question your intentions!" Galinda said as she scurried after the tutor, "Although I express my dearest gratitution, I thought that these classes would be singular. You see, what I didn't realise was that Elphaba and I would be, well, working _together_. _As a team_."

"Oh please! I told you yesterday that we would be working _together_. _As a team_. Do you really think I want this? I probably want this less than you do," Elphaba snarled.

"Well I'm sorry, I had other things on my mind yesterday!" Galinda screeched.

"Well, well," Madame Morrible observed, "I'll let you two girls _bond_. I shan't be but a clock-tick."

The tutor left the room with a hint of merriment about her stride.

"I can't believe she thought this would work," Elphaba muttered.

"Oh, hush! I thought you had devised a _plan_ of kinds."

"Hmph. It's a good thing I'm not apt to let my loathing get in the way of it," Elphaba said, walking over to the desk at the end of the room and grabbing a piece of scroll with Madame Morrible's signature watermarked along the bottom. She took hold of a palette of ink and a nib before turning to Galinda. "I'm going to write a letter to your father."

"I don't _think_ so!" Galinda skipped over to Elphaba, grabbing hold of her wrists and stopping her from further action, "Now you listen to me! I don't know what is going on in that head of yours, but just know that this is not going to work. Nor shall I let it happen at any cost. My father has enough on his mind right now and I -"

"Do you _want_ to find Aimee?"

"Yes, but not in this way!"

"Do you trust me?"

"No! I most certainly do not! And why you would think that I ever could I do not know -"

"Be quiet!" Elphaba yelled, "I know what I'm doing."

" _Why_?"

"What?"

" _Why_ are you doing what you are doing? I mean, you and I both know we are never going to get along. I just want to know why you are so focused on finding Aimee when you loathe me and do not know anything about _her_. It doesn't make sense!"

"There is no reason," Elphaba frowned, placing the nib to the scroll and beginning to write.

"Yes there is!" Galinda insisted.

"There does not have to be a reason for everything!" Elphaba yelled, laying down her hand so forcefully that a wad of ink splattered forward onto Galinda's dress. She watched the blue stain trickle downwards, spreading to the skirt.

Galinda looked down and wailed. "Now look what you've done! Oh, my Oz! This will never come out! This is Ozmopolitan, Elphaba!"

"I'm sorry."

"Is _sorry_ going to bring out this stain?!"

"Not unless it's a new brand of detergent which I haven't heard of."

"Oh, well aren't you just the _wittiest_?"

"It sure beats being the _prettiest_ ," Elphaba fired back.

Galinda frowned and for a brief moment met Elphaba's eyes with her own. She quickly cast her gaze downwards and coughed as Elphaba scrawled something quickly across the scroll, scanned it and handed it over to her. "I thought that if your father believed the letter to be from Madame Morrible, he would be less likely to question it."

Galinda read Elphaba's words silently. Once she had finished, she looked up and pouted. Elphaba sighed, bracing herself for whatever torrent of unconvinced remarks were about to come her way.

"Elphaba, you have written here that I am sick with the flu and have been quarantined. I am a very healthy person, I don't get sick -"

"Healthy people get sick too -"

"- and _quarantined_? I am not an animal, Elphaba."

Galinda handed the letter back to her roommate and watched as Elphaba folded it and put it in an envelope. "What is your father's address?"

Galinda told her. "Don't you think Morrible will send out her _own_ letter once she realises I'm missing?"

"No. I've been working on something -"

"Oh, I do hate it when you work on stuff."

"- and it will hopefully rid Madame Morrible of any memory of us being here this term."

"You cannot be serious! Elphaba that is extremely dangerous!"

"Listen, she's going to be back any minute now. When she arrives, I want you to say that you feel nauseous and run to the bathroom. Take this with you," Elphaba pushed the envelope into Galinda's hand, "And mail it out. I'll work on Morrible and tonight we will leave."

"We can't leave! We have nowhere to stay. What will we eat? What will we _wear_?" Galinda gasped, "What _shoes_ shall we don?"

"Really?" Elphaba said, "Is this the same cousin you were crying over yesterday?"

"Yes." Galinda said simply. "Now, tell me why. Before Morrible gets back. Tell me why you're helping me. I know you don't like me. And if I'm being honest, Elphaba, I do not trust you. I need to know why you have suddenly become so forthcoming with your intentions. This unforeseen change of heart is most bizarre."

Elphaba scrunched her eyes together and grumbled. "When I was younger my sister went missing, okay?"

"You have a sister?"

" _Had_. I _had_ a sister. I remember little of her; only that my father blamed me for her disappearance. My mother went out to search for Nessarose and was found dead a few weeks later. I wanted to go out and search for her myself but at thirteen my father said I was too young. He also added that even if I wasn't, I would be hopeless at it anyway. In fact, I recall his exact words that night being, ' _hopeless, green and good at ruining lives_.'"

"Oh, Elphie..."

"And I don't want to be hopeless and I don't want to ruin lives. I don't particularly want to be green, but, well..."

"Elphie..."

"Stop calling me that."

"You're not hopeless."

Madame Morrible strutted back into the room. She was muttering under her breath about the lack of control over canoodling students in the corridors but she stopped when she saw Elphaba and Galinda huddled together.

"I see you two girls have found common ground," she said, "Anything I would be interested in?"

"I doubt it," Elphaba grunted, squirming as Galinda aimed a sympathetic smile towards her. She hated pity, which was the cardinal reason why she never brought up the subject of Nessa with anyone. That and the fact that it hurt too much.

"Well, not to dwell! Let us proceed!" Madame Morrible squealed.

"Oh, oh!" Galinda cried, smacking her hand to her mouth.

"Galinda, dear, what is it?"

"Oh, Madame! It's just, I suddenly feel very nauseous!" Galinda fanned her palm in front of her face and fell to the floor in a bundle.

Elphaba rolled her eyes at the dramatisation. What did the girl think it was? The Ozcars?

"Miss. Galinda!" Madame Morrible knelt down next to the girl and placed her palm upon her forehead, "Please, see yourself fit to be excused."

Galinda stood up slowly and sloppily, patting her cheeks regularly and breathing heavier than was necessary. Elphaba raised an eyebrow at the spectacle and was rewarded with a discreet, over-the-top wink from Galinda as she left the room. Madame Morrible tucked a stray grey hair behind her ear and turned to Elphaba.

"It appears that your sessions have reverted back to the one-to-ones you so greatly desired," she said, "Galinda's nausea wouldn't have anything to do with that, would it?"

"You think _I_ made her feel sick?"

"I know what you are capable of, Miss. Thropp."

"Oh, believe me, if I were to do anything to Galinda, I would do a lot more than make her feel nauseous," Elphaba mumbled, "But, let us agree that it _is_ easy for people to gain a sense of nausea when they are around me. Maybe it's my _greenness_. Maybe they find that being around someone whose natural aura is that of a sick person, they actually begin to feel sick themselves."

"Miss. Elphaba!"

"May I get a drink of water, please?"

Madame Morrible nodded distractedly as Elphaba walked over to the water fountain at the front of the class. Once she was there, she shut her eyes tightly and willed all of her power together like she had done the previous afternoon in the cafeteria. This was her first and last try at the spell she had been chanting over and over throughout the night. She had spent the evening under her covers, reading by torchlight and Elphaba hoped that now it would pay off. She couldn't save Nessarose but by helping Galinda find Aimee, she could prove to herself that what her father had said about her wasn't true.

"I need to ask you something," Elphaba said just loudly enough for Madame Morrible to hear, "Please, will you sit down so I can talk to you for a moment?"

Madame Morrible sat down behind her desk and offered the seat opposite to Elphaba who took it quickly. She grabbed the tutor's hands with her own and looked into the pair of eyes opposite her, offering a delicate chant which sent Madame Morrible immediately into a state of delusion. It was then that Elphaba began the real spell. She took a deep breath and began.

* * *

Galinda sat on her bed, playing with the frills along the hem of her patchwork cover. Her thoughts were elsewhere, her thoughts were flitting around Elphaba. Was the spell working? Was it safe? Did Elphaba really know what she was doing? And what about her _sister_ \- was Nessarose still out there somewhere? There was so much about Elphaba that she didn't know. Upon their first introduction to each other, Galinda, along with the rest of Shiz, had immediately labelled Elphaba as a monster, the freak of the university, _the one with the green skin_. She hadn't thought or mused into the fact that Elphaba had had a past. But, of course, just like anyone else, she _had_ had a past. As Galinda played with her bedding, she began to realise that there was so much more to Elphaba than the colour of her skin.


End file.
